Reading the Mark of Athena
by xAndromedaNiketax
Summary: The schizophrenic gods are all gathered in one place when a few demi-gods show up to explain their quest to Rome. But here's the pressing question, where are Percy and Annabeth? This is a Reading the books story with a twist. Used to be called "The Gods Learn the truth"
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys this is my first story, and this will be more than a one shot. **

**I am NOT Rick Riordan and I do not own Percy Jackson, no matter how much i wish i did. Flames will be used for roasting marsh-mellows. **

The gods were all on Olympus, dealing with their mind splitting head-aches. Aphrodite, Artemis and Apollo were rushing around, trying their best to help the others. Well, then again, Apollo was spouting hiakus as he went so that probably didn't help.

"ughhh. We must ow. support the Romans. They are our.. ugh uh.." said Mars.

"How could you say that Mars! The Greeks are who we must support." said a delirious Minerva. "Curse the Romans, I hope they ALL perish!"

"Everyone just calm down." Artemis said quietly. "We mustn't choose sides. War might not happen! The seven on their quest will defeat the giants and bring the two camps closer together. Now we all need to just stay Greek. Okay? Everyone stay Greek." All of the gods forms flickered until they were all in their normal Greek forms.

"Now everyone stay focused on being Greek. Should help with the head-aches." murmured Apollo as he returned to his throne. Then suddenly, a bright light filled the room and the gods all had to avert their eyes. When they looked back there was a note on the floor. Hermes walked up to the note and began to read it.

_Dear Gods of Olympus:_

_ You may not realize what difficulty the Heroes of Olympus are currently facing, so we decided to bring them to you from the future to inform you as to why you cannot sit here and do nothing while the demi-gods handle this problem. _(cue thunder from Zues)

_sincerely,_

_ the fates _

The gods all gasped, "The fates? But they, they NEVER interfere!" choked out Athena, but before she could continue, another bright light filled the room, and when it was gone stood 6 demi-gods.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! So here's chapter 2! I had a really good, long chapter, and then I pushed a button and deleted everything .. Reviews are welcome! Flames will be put in the hearth and tended by Hestia. I am NOT Rick Riordan, and I do not own any of his characters.**

"WHO DARES INTRUDE ON OUR MEETING?" Thundered Zeus as he pointed his master bolt at the group of frazzled demigods.

"Brother please," said Hestia quietly as she smiled warmly at the demigods. "the fates have just warned us of their presence. Let them introduce themselves and tell us of their tale."

"Very well." Zeus grumbled, sitting down on his throne. "Step forward and introduce yourselves. Name and godly parent." All of the demigods looked terrified, and some looked amazed at seeing Olympus for the first time, but a blonde boy about 16 years old stepped forward.

"Jason Grace, son of Jupiter." He said quietly. All of the gods groaned and grabbed their heads to try to calm down their exploding migraines. Their forms flickered and changed briefly before switching back. Jason looked startled at this reaction. "Did I do something wrong? What did I say?"

"Just try to keep it Greek." Said Apollo cheerfully. "Splitting migraines and such from the division of ourselves. It's hard to be 2 different people at the same time, and it becomes awfully confusing and disorienting. So address us in our Greek aspects to minimize the headaches." Everyone nodded quickly.

"I'll never understand why they had to change our blasted names when we passed over to Rome." Hades/Pluto hissed as his headache began to subside.

After all of the gods calmed their headaches down as best they could, Zeus spoke. "Continue with the introductions!"

A dark skinned girl with golden eyes stepped forward, "Hazel Levesque, daughter of Pl-Hades. Daughter of Hades." She said quickly, blushing at her mistake. Hades looked down at her, and saw how upset she looked.

"Frank Zhang, son of.. Ares?" Frank said with a gloomy expression on his face. Ares looked down at his son and noticed how upset he looked. He frowned at his son in a silent question and shrugged. He figured what was bothering his son was nothing of importance.

"Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite." A pretty girl with kaleidoscope eyes said quietly. Aphrodite smiled at her daughter, which soon turned to a frown as she noticed the devastated look on her daughters face. Piper was trying, and failing, at not crying. She shoved her face into Jason's shirt and began to sob silently into his warm embrace. All of the gods exchanged a look. _Why's she so upset?_

Leo saw Piper begin to fall apart at the seams and quickly stepped forward to take the attention off of her. "Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus." Hephaestus looked down at his son expecting to see a trouble makers grin and cheery expression, and what he saw startled him. He saw a dejected, sad boy who looked like someone had just kicked his puppy. He quickly looked at the rest of the demigods to see that they all had similar expressions on their faces. He exchanged another look with the other gods, and saw that they as well noticed the upset looks on all of the demigods faces. The same question was going through their heads. _If the most powerful demigods are this upset, then what is the future like? _

Nico stepped forward and introduced himself quietly, "Nico di Angelo, son of…." And he began to cough intensely. When he calmed down, he continued, "Hades." Hades looked at his only son and was shocked to see a gaunt, skinny, pale boy with haunted sunken eyes. He looked like he hadn't eaten in days, and he was walking with a bad limp. He looked like someone who had been a prisoner of war.

"Well, now that you're all introduced, I think it's time that we find out why you're here." Said Demeter quietly. "We received a message from the fates shortly before you arrived saying that you would recall events from a quest, I believe." The demigods looked shocked.

"Don't you already know what has happened?" Asked Frank.

"No." Hermes said, "That's why you're here. To inform us of what is to happen."

"Wait." Jason said. "Have we left for the quest yet in this time?"

"I believe so." Hera said thoughtfully. "Last time I checked you had just picked up the last three demigods of the prophecy and were chased out by the angry Romans after some mishap or something. You are now on your way to Rome." The demigods looked shocked.

"We're from a time where we are sailing away from Rome, and onto the next part of our quest, to find the Doors of Death." All of the demigods looked saddened again, as they knew who was looking for the other entrance to the doors. Hazel and Piper both began to cry and Jason and Frank held them, not looking far from tears as well.

"Well, I believe it is crucial that you recount every detail of your quest, and tell us what you know about the doors so we know what we're up against." Spoke Athena loudly. The demigods looked at her and quickly looked away wincing. They all had the same thought_, she looks just like Annabeth.._ When Athena went to continue, a book fell from the ceiling and landed in her lap. Curious, she read the title, paled considerably and shoved the book off of her lap, as if it were on fire. She looked sick, and all the gods looked at her in surprise. The goddess of wisdom throwing books? Piper calmed herself down, picked up the book and read the title to herself. She gasped, dropped the book and tripped, while trying to put as much distance between her body and the book as possible.

Hermes, being the brave, and curious god that he was, got up out of his throne and strolled over to the book. He picked it up tentatively, and when he was sure the book would'nt explode, he shrugged and read the title. "The Mark of Athena."

**Soooo bit of a cliffhanger there? I'll post again soon, maybe later today. Favorite to make sure you won't miss anything! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys this includes part of chapter 1 for the Mark of Athena. I do not own anything, if I did, I would be Rick Riordan, and I'm not... sooo. favorite and review!**

No one was prepared for the demigods reactions. Piper yelped and hugged Jason tighter. Hazel stifled a scream and clung to Frank for dear life, that is, until he burst into a weasel and shoved his head into his paws. Jason glared at the book with such intensity, the gods were afraid it would get hit by lightning. Nico no longer looked pitiful he looked downright murderous. If looks could kill, that book would've been in the deepest pits of Hades at this point. Leo burst into whitehot flames and slowly backed away from the book. Hermes, being on the receiving end of these looks, put the book on the floor and backed away slowly with his hands in the air.

"Woah guys. Calm down, it's just a book." said Hermes. "Just lets see what its all about." The demigods, one by one began to calm down, and once Leo extinguished himself, Hermes slowly approached the book again. "I don't see what the big deal is," he murmured as he picked it up, "it's just a book. Okay, so there's only one chapter?" he flipped through the 500+ blank pages of the book and a note fell out. "Oh, it says here that as the demigods tell their story, more chapters will show up."

"So should we begin by reading the first chapter?" asked Artemis, "Or let the demigods start?"

"I think we should read, and then answer any questions you may have about the book." said Frank quietly, "I mean, it makes more sense like that."

"Alrighty then," said a smiling Apollo, "Who wants to start?"

"I will." Said Hestia in her corner of the room. She then waved her hand and conjured a few seats and snacks for the demigods, before getting the book and returning back to where she was seated. "Alright, **Annabeth I**"

"Where is Annabeth?" asked Athena carefully, noticing for the first time that her daughter was no where to be found. The demigods all saddened and depressed again.

"We'll tell you after this chapter." said Leo to Athena.

**Until she met the exploding statue, Annabeth thought she was prepared for anything.**

"Huh?" asked Ares, "That sounds AWESOME."  
**She'd paced the deck of the Argo II, checking and double checking the ballistae to make sure they were locked down. She confirmed the white "We come in peace" flag was flying from the mast.**

"Puny humanoids we come in peace." said Apollo in an alien voice. Artemis sighed and slapped him upside the head. He just stuck his tongue out at her and motioned for Hestia to continue reading.

**She reviewed the plan with the rest of the crew and the backup plan and the backup plan for the backup plan.**  
**Most important, she pulled aside their war-crazed chaperone, Coach Gleeson Hedge **

"Oh Gleeson..." sighed Dionysus.

**and encouraged him to take the morning off in his cabin watching reruns of mixed martial arts championships. The last thing they needed as they flew a magical Greek Trireme into a potentially hostile Roman Camp was a middle-aged Satyr in gym clothes waving a club and yelling, "DIE! "**

Everyone managed a smile and Apollo asked, "Do you ever need one?"

**Everything seemed to be in order. Even that mysterious chill that she'd been feeling since the ship launched seemed to have dissipated, at least for now.**

"What cold chill?" Athena asked narrowing her eyes.  
**The warship descended from the clouds, but Annabeth couldn't stop second guessing herself. What if this was a bad idea? What if the Romans panicked, and attacked on sight?**

"Well, its not far from what actually happened." muttered Piper and Leo looked down at his feet.

"You know that's not what she meant." Hazel said reassuringly to Leo. He just attempted to smile at her in return.

**The Argo II definitely did not look friendly. Two hundred feet long, with a bronze-plated hull, flaming metal dragon for a masthead, and two rotating ballistae mid-ship that could fire explosive bolts powerful enough to blast through concrete... Well, it wasn't the most appropriate ride for a meet and greet with the neighbors.**

Hephaestus attempted a grin, that came out as a grimace. "Nice work on the ship mi boy." Leo looked startled, but returned the smile none the less.  
**Annabeth had tried to give the Romans a heads up. She asked Leo to send one of his special inventions, a holographic scroll, to alert their friends inside the camp.**

**Hopefully the message had gotten through.**

****"It did." said Hazel softly, remembering when she, Frank and.. Percy saw the message. _Oh gods Percy... and Annabeth. I hope they're okay..._ She looked up at Poseidon and all she saw was Percy, and she teared up and looked away. Poseidon caught this and was confused. He didn't do anything to this girl in the future did he?

**Leo had wanted to paint a giant message on the bottom of the hull -WASSUP? with a smiley face- **

Apollo and Hermes high fived. "DO IT!" they both shouted.

**but Annabeth had vetoed the idea. **

Apollo grumbled. "Party pooper." All of the demigods glared at him briefly. Annabeth was a wonderful person.

**She wasn't sure the Romans had a sense of humor.**

****Frank grumbled. He had a sense of humor, thank you very much.

**Too late to turn back now.**

**The clouds broke around the hull, revealing the gold and green carpet of the Oakland Hills below them. Annabeth gripped one of the bronze shields that lined the side of the starboard railing. **  
**Her three crewmates took their places.**

**On the stern quarterdeck Leo rushed around like a madman, **

Leo chuckled softly to himself. He loved his ship.

**checking his gauges and wrestling levers.**

**Most townsmen would have been satisfied with a pilot's wheel, or a rudder. Leo had installed a keyboard, a monitor, aviation controls from a Learjet, a dubstep soundboard and motion control sensors from a Nintendo Wii.**

****Hephaestus looked thoughtful. "Sounds interesting, kid, gotta give you that much."

**He could turn the ship by pulling the throttle, fire weapons by sampling an album, or, he could raise the sails by shaking his Wii controllers really fast.**

****"Hmm. Demigods have ADHD? Nahhh, don't believe it for a second." said Hermes sarcastically.

**Even by demigod standards, Leo was seriously ADHD.**

****All the gods chuckled at this and Leo grinned. "And proud of it!"

**Piper paced back and forth between the main masts and the ballistae practising her lines.**

**"Lower your weapons," She murmured, "We just want to talk."**

****Piper blushed.

**Her charmspeak was so powerful the words flowed over Annabeth, filling her with the desire to drop her dagger and have a nice, long chat.**

****Aphrodite looked at her daughter proudly. "Good job Piper. Annabeth's a strong minded person."

All of the demigods looked saddened by this statement. She would need to be, where she currently was. Hestia, noticing the tense atmosphere began to read again.

**For a child of Aphrodite, Piper tried really hard to play down her beauty. Today she was wearing tattered jeans, torn sneakers and a white tank top with pink hello kitty designs.**

**Maybe a joke, though Annabeth could never be sure with Piper.**

****Piper smiled softly to herself. It was a joke, a stupid one, but a joke none the less.

**Her choppy brown hair was pleated down one side with an eagle's feather, and then, there was Piper's boyfriend, Jason.**

****Aphrodite squealed, and everyone held their ears. "It's just soo... CUTE!" Piper blushed again and Jason pulled her in closer and kissed the top of her head.

**He stood at the bow, on a raised crossbow platform, where the Romans could easily spot him. His knuckles were white on the hilt of his sword. Otherwise, he looked calm for a guy who was making himself a target.**

****"We would never shoot at Jason." said Hazel with a fiery determination in her eyes.

**Over his jeans and his orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, he donned a toga, and a purple cloak, the symbols of his old rank as Praetor.**

****Zeus frowned. "Old rank? Who took your spot?" All the demigods sobered up again.

"Percy Jackson did, father." Jason said with a sad look in his eyes. Poseidon looked proud and went to congratulate his son before he realized that Percy wasn't there.

"Hey where is Percy?" he asked. All of the demigods froze up again.

"We'll explain everything after this chapter." Nico said quietly. Poseidon tensed, where was Percy? Was he okay? Safe?

**With his wind-ruffled blond hair and his icy blue eyes, he looked ruggedly handsome and in control, just like a son of Jupiter should.**

****Jason smiled at this description and Piper became slightly jealous at this description. Jason rolled his eyes at her and kissed the tip of her nose.

**He'd grown up at Camp Jupiter, so hopefully his familiar face would make the Romans hesitate to blow them out of the sky.**

**Annabeth tried to hide it, but she didn't completely trust that guy. **

Jason frowned. Annabeth didn't trust him? He felt, well saddened by this.

**He acted… too perfect. Always following the rules, always doing the honorable thing. He even looked too perfect.**

****Piper growled slightly.

**In the back of her mind, she had this snagging thought. What if this was a trick, and he betrays us? **

Jason gaped open mouthed at the book, looking very offended.

**What if we sail into Camp Jupiter and he says, "Hey Romans, check out these prisoners, and this cool ship I brought you!"**

****Jason stood up abruptly, "I WOULD NEVER!"

"She was just being careful, Jason." murmured Hazel, "she was going over every possibility in her head, like a daughter of Athena should." Jason, being satisfied with this answer, sat back down, rather sheepishly.

**Annabeth didn't think that would happen, still, she couldn't look at him without getting a bitter taste in her mouth.**

****Jason frowned again. What was this, pick on Jason day?

Everyone laughed at the look on his face.

**He'd been part of Hera's forced exchange program between the two camps. **

****"Oh." realization dawned on his face. "She's just okay, I get it."

All of the demigods were clued in now, leaving the gods in the dark again.

"Well that clears absolutely nothing up." said Hades frowning.

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THIS." screamed Ares, "WHERE IS THE WAR? THE VIOLENCE? THE WEAPONS?"

Frank looked revolted. "That's your dad." Hazel said while giggling at the look of disgust on Frank's face.

**Without warning, Hera had plucked up Percy Jackson, Annabeth's boyfriend, wiped his memory and sent him to the Roman camp. In exchange, the Greeks got Jason.**

****"No need to sound bitter there Annabeth." Jason said, then realized his mistake, Annabeth wasn't there. The demigods all looked depressed again. Athena looked ready to explode. _WHAT WAS WRONG WITH HER DAUGHTER? WHERE IS SHE?_

**That wasn't Jason's fault, but every time Annabeth saw him, she remembered how much she missed Percy. **

****Tears began to run down Piper's face as she thought about the last time she saw Annabeth and Percy. She didn't even know they were gone until Nico had made it up to the ship and told them. Percy and Annabeth better be okay.

**Percy, who might be below them right now. Oh gods, panic welled up inside her, she forced it down, she couldn't afford to get overwhelmed now.**

****Now Hazel joined in in Piper's cry fest. The gods exchanged another look. _Something bad happened to them._ was what they were interpreting.

**'I'm a child of Athena,' She told herself, 'I have to stick to my plan, and not get distracted.'**

_'That's right.' thought Athena. smiling at her daughter's thoughts._

**And then she felt it again. That familiar shiver, as if a psychotic snowman had crept up behind her and was breathing down her neck. She turned, but of course, no one was there. **

****"oooooh evil snowmen, THE WORLD IS ENDING!" shouted Apollo suddenly. Dionysus jumped about a foot in the air.

"WILL YOU CALM DOWN?" He screamed back at the god of the sun.

**It must be her nerves.**

****"It wasn't." Leo, Piper, Jason, Hazel and Frank said. Athena was becoming more and more paranoid. _WHERE IS ANNABETH. _she wanted to scream, but she couldn't, she could control herself, she was a goddess.

**Even in a world of gods and monsters, Annabeth couldn't believe a new warship would be haunted.**

****"Well believe it." Leo muttered.

**The Argo II was well protected. The Celestial Bronze shields along the rail were enchanted to ward off monsters, and their onboard satyr, Coach Hedge, would have sniffed out any intruders. **

**Annabeth wished she could pray to her mother for guidance, but that wasn't possible now. **

****Everyone glanced at Athena, and she frowned. _Why can't she pray to me? and, WHERE IS SHE?_

**Not after last month, when she'd had that horrible encounter with her mom, and gotten the worst present of her life...**

****Athena tensed. She didn't remember an encounter with Annabeth. But wait, the book title, The Mark of Athena. _Did I really? DID I GIVE HER THAT? oh gods..._

**The cold pressed closer. **

****Athena growled. _WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?_

**She thought she heard a faint voice in the wind, like laughter. Every muscle in her body tensed. Something was about to go terribly wrong.**

****"She couldn't have been more right." All of the demigods mumbled and the gods grew tense. They knew that something bad had happened in Camp Jupiter, but they didn't know the extent of the damage. Athena was ready to explode.

**She almost ordered Leo to reverse course. Then, in the valley below, horns sounded.**

**The Romans had spotted them.**

****"DUN DUN DU-" began Apollo, only to be interrupted by a furious, worried Athena.

"WHERE IS ANNABETH!? I DON'T CARE IF THE CHAPTER ISN'T OVER. TELL. ME. NOW." Athena said dangerously calm, her gray eyes blazing ferociously.

**ANNNND Thats the end for this chapter, hope you liked it! review and tell me what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry I'm so late guys, I had so much school stuff going on, but I promise I will update again tomorrow, and give you more of the story.**

**I sadly do no own Percy Jackson, or The Mark of Athena. Flames will be given to Hestia.**

The throne room became silent as the demigods figured out how to calm Athena down.

"I said, WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?" Athena screeched at them, overwhelmed with worry.

"Athena!" Zeus threatened, "they have promised us explanations after this chapter is over. Now let Hestia continue or you will never know what happened to your precious daughter."

"I would like to know where my son is as well." Poseidon growled, his once unreadable expression now angry. "Now Owl-Brain, sit down and we can finish this chapter and then finally see what has happened."

"No, I need to kn-" Athena began until she met Poseidon's glare. He may have looked angry, but she recognized other emotions in his eyes. Worry, mostly, but there was another. One hidden very well, but it was still there. Fear. Poseidon was afraid that Percy was hurt or dead. Athena may have hated both Percy and Poseidon, but right now she could relate to Poseidon. They were both worried, upset parents who just wanted to know where their children were. She sighed and sat down.

During this little confrontation, Piper and Hazel had begun to cry again, Jason and Frank were both depressed, Leo had put his head in his hands and refused to look up, one thought going through his head. _It's all my fault. Stupid...fortune-cookie...Nemesis... _Nico had tears in his eyes. He wasn't a little kid anymore, he wasn't a crier anymore. But Percy was like his older brother, someone he looked up to and he had basically let him down. Let him down hard. Nico clenched his teeth, and swore on the River Styx to himself that he would lead the demigods to the next stage in their quest. Thunder boomed overhead and everyone snuck a glace at Zeus. He glared at them all in return and humphed. _Just because he was the god of thunder didn't mean that everytime there was thunder it was HIS fault._ They all quickly looked away.

Artemis looked around the room before quietly saying "Maybe we should continue with the book." All of the gods nodded but the demigods gave no indication that they had heard her speak at all.

Hestia cleared her throat and began to read.

**Annabeth thought she knew what to expect. Jason had described Camp Jupiter to her in great detail. **

****Jason tried for a smile, then remembered what happened and frowned again.

**Still**,** she had trouble believing her eyes. Ringed by the Oakland Hills, the valley was at least twice the size of Camp Half-Blood. A small river snaked around one side and curled toward the center like a capital letter G, emptying into a sparkling blue lake.**

**Directly below the ship, nestled at the edge of the lake, the city of New Rome gleamed in the sunlight. She recognized landmarks Jason had told her about—the hippodrome, the coliseum, the temples and parks, the neighborhood of Seven Hills with its winding streets, colorful villas, and flowering gardens.**

****"Ah the gardens." Demeter sighed wistfully.

Hades glared at her. She glared back.

**She saw evidence of the Romans' recent battle with an army of monsters. The dome was cracked open on a building she guessed was the Senate House. The forum's broad plaza was pitted with craters. Some fountains and statues were in ruins.**

****All of the gods frowned. _Stupid giants. _They all thought.

**Dozens of kids in togas were streaming out of the Senate House to get a better view of the Argo II. More Romans emerged from the shops and cafes, gawking and pointing as the ship descended.**

****"Well aren't you all popular." Hermes said jokingly

"Oh yes, everyone loooooves them." Apollo joined in.

**About half a mile to the west, where the horns were blowing, a Roman fort stood on a hill. It looked just like the illustrations Annabeth had seen in military history books—with a defensive trench lined with spikes, high walls, and watchtowers armed with scorpion ballistae. Inside, perfect rows of white barracks lined the main road—the Via Principalis.**

****Frank and Hazel were both wondering if they would ever be able to go back to Camp Jupiter.

**A column of demigods emerged from the gates, their armor and spears glinting as they hurried toward the city. In the midst of their ranks was an actual war elephant.**

****"Hannibal." Frank said quietly.

**Annabeth wanted to land the Argo II before those troops arrived, but the ground was still several hundred feet below. She scanned the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of Percy. Then something behind her went BOOM!**

****"WHAT? WHAT'S HAPPENING?" Yelled Athena suddenly

Ares grinned, FINALLY some action!

**The explosion almost knocked her overboard. She whirled and found herself eye to eye with an angry statue.**

****Athena blushed. "Oh, it's only Terminus.

"Will that teach you to not over react?" Poseidon asked her.

She just glared at him.

**"Unacceptable!" he shrieked.**

****"UNACCEPTABLE!" Apollo and Hermes both screamed at the same time.

Dionysus woke up and glared at them. He snapped his fingers and their mouths were covered by grape vines. They both stared at him and he smirked back.

**Apparently he had exploded into existence, right there on the deck. Sulfurous yellow smoke rolled off his shoulders. Cinders popped around his curly hair. From the waist down, he was nothing but a square marble pedestal. **

****"That would suck to not have a-" Apollo (who somehow got free of the vines) began to just be slapped by Artemis. "OW sis that hurt!"

"Good." Artemis mumbled to herself.

**From the waist up, he was a muscular human figure in a carved toga.**

****"SOOOO muscular!" Hermes cooed.

**"I will not have weapons inside the Pomerian Line!" he announced in a fussy teacher voice. "I certainly will not have Greeks!"**

**Jason shot Annabeth a look that said I've got this.**

****Jason smiled slightly, he certainly did NOT have that.

**"Terminus," he said. "It's me. Jason Grace."**

**"Oh, I remember you, Jason!" Terminus grumbled. "I thought you had better sense than to consort with the enemies of Rome!"**

**"But they're not enemies—"**

**"That's right," Piper jumped in. "We just want to talk. If we could—"**

**"Ha!" snapped the statue. "Don't try that charmspeak on me, young lady. **

****"Good try sweetie." Aphrodite said to Piper quietly. Piper smiled at her mom and she smiled back.

**And put down that dagger before I slap it out of your hands!"**

**Piper glanced at her bronze dagger, which she'd apparently forgotten she was holding. "Um . . . okay. But how would you slap it? You don't have any arms."**

****"ooooh, touchy subject there." Hermes snickered.

**"Impertinence!" There was a sharp POP and a flash of yellow. Piper yelped and dropped the dagger, which was now smoking and sparking.**

****"OW! How dare he!" Aphrodite grumbled. No one hurts her babies.

**"Lucky for you I've just been through a battle," Terminus announced. "If I were at full strength, I would've blasted this flying monstrosity out of the sky already!"**

****Leo glared at the book, and Hephaestus joined in. His son's ship was very nice.

**"Hold up." Leo stepped forward, wagging his Wii controller. "Did you just call my ship a monstrosity? I know you didn't do that."**

****"Ooooh, now Leo is angry." Hermes and Apollo sung.

"Will you two shut up already? Poseidon and Athena look like they are about to explode with worry." Hades yelled to the brothers. Everyone glanced at the two worried gods and saw that he was right. They were just barely containing their worry, and managing to now scream at everyone, demanding where their children were.

Hestia began to read again.

**The idea that Leo might attack the statue with his gaming device was enough to snap Annabeth out of her shock.**

****_Yes, don't get distracted Annabeth. Now WHERE ARE YOU?_

**"Let's all calm down." She raised her hands to show she had no weapons. "I take it you're Terminus, the god of boundaries. Jason told me you protect the city of New Rome, right? I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of—"**

**"Oh, I know who you are!" The statue glared at her with its blank white eyes. "A child of Athena, Minerva's Greek form. Scandalous! You Greeks have no sense of decency. We Romans know the proper place for that goddess."**

****Athena forgot all about worrying about Annabeth for a few seconds to glare open mouthed at the book. "What does that mean Terminus?"

Everyone snickered at the outraged expression on her face.

**Annabeth clenched her jaw. This statue wasn't making it easy to be diplomatic. "What exactly do you mean, that goddess? And what's so scandalous about—"**

****"That's what I would like to know, Annabeth!" Yelled Athena, she looked around the room to see her daughter and realized she wasn't there. She growled and sunk back in her throne, waiting until the end of the chapter to find out where she was.

**"Right!" Jason interrupted. "Anyway, Terminus, we're here on a mission of peace. We'd love permission to land so we can—"**

**"Impossible!" the god squeaked. "Lay down your weapons and surrender! Leave my city immediately!"**

****"No they need to go to Rome and fight the giants!" Hera said snootily.

**"Which is it?" Leo asked. "Surrender, or leave?"**

**"Both!" Terminus said. "Surrender, then leave. I am slapping your face for asking such a stupid question, you ridiculous boy! Do you feel that?"**

"No, I did not feel that." Leo said.

**"Wow." Leo studied Terminus with professional interest. "You're wound up pretty tight. You got any gears in there that need loosening? I could take a look."**

****"He's not going to like that." Hephaestus said to Leo, and Leo shrugged, to upset to do much else.

**He exchanged the Wii controller for a screwdriver from his magic tool belt and tapped the statue's pedestal.**

**"Stop that!" Terminus insisted. Another small explosion made Leo drop his screwdriver. "Weapons are not allowed on Roman soil inside the Pomerian Line."**

**"The what?" Piper asked.**

**"City limits," Jason translated.**

**"And this entire ship is a weapon!" Terminus said. "You cannot land!"**

****"We probably should've listened." Piper mumbled to herself. Even though they didn't land, things still went badly.

**Down in the valley, the legion reinforcements were halfway to the city. The crowd in the forum was over a hundred strong now. Annabeth scanned the faces and . . . oh, gods. She saw him.**

****Poseidon looked up sharply, catching his breath.

The demigods all looked even more depressed.

**He was walking toward the ship with his arms around two other kids like they were best buddies—a stout boy with a black buzz cut,**

****Frank smiled, remembering their quest to Alaska. He hugged Hazel tightly.

**and a girl wearing a Roman cavalry helmet. **

****Everyone looked at Frank and Hazel who were both lost in happy memories.

**Percy looked so at ease, so happy.** He** wore a purple cape just like Jason's—the mark of a praetor.**

****Zeus was very angry. He liked his son being in a position of power. Poseidon smiled, his eyes gleaming. "Good job, son" he said to no one, because he just wanted to say it. The demigods all smiled. _Yes, good job Percy._

**Annabeth's heart did a gymnastics routine.**

****Aphrodite squealed so loudly everyone had to cover their ears. She began to tear up. "It's just so, so CUTE!"

Piper smiled, Percy and Annabeth were cute together.

**"Leo, stop the ship," she ordered.**

**"What?"**

**"You heard me. Keep us right where we are."**

**Leo pulled out his controller and yanked it upward. All ninety oars froze in place. The ship stopped sinking.**

**"Terminus," Annabeth said, "there's no rule against hovering over New Rome, is there?"**

****"Very clever." Artemis said.

"Breaking the rules, without actually breaking them. I like her thinking!" Hermes said loudly.

**The statue frowned. "Well, no . . ."**

**"We can keep the ship aloft," Annabeth said. "We'll use a rope ladder to reach the forum. That way, the ship won't be on Roman soil. Not technically."**

**The statue seemed to ponder this. Annabeth wondered if he was scratching his chin with imaginary hands.**

****The room erupted in laughter at the mental picture this provided.

**"I like technicalities," he admitted. "Still . . ."**

**"All our weapons will stay aboard the ship," Annabeth promised. "I assume the Romans—even those reinforcements marching toward us—will also have to honor your rules inside the Pomerian Line if you tell them to?"**

**"Of course!" Terminus said. "Do I look like I tolerate rule breakers?"**

****"No." Jason, Piper, Nico, Hazel and Frank said, While Leo, Hermes and Apollo all said "Yes."

**"Uh, Annabeth . . ." Leo said. "You sure this is a good idea?"**

"Not at all." Piper said. The gods frowned, what had happened that was so bad?

**She closed her fists to keep them from shaking. That cold feeling was still there. It floated just behind her, and now that Terminus was no longer shouting and causing explosions, she thought she could hear the presence laughing, as if it was delighted by the bad choices she was making.**

****Athena was ready to scream again. The demigods looked horrified and the tension in the room increased exponentially.

**But Percy was down there . . . he was so close. She had to reach him.**

****Aphrodite sighed, she did such a good job with this couple.

**"It'll be fine," she said. "No one will be armed. We can talk in peace. Terminus will make sure each side obeys the rules." She looked at marble statue. "Do we have an agreement?"**

**Terminus sniffed. "I suppose. For now. You may climb down your ladder to New Rome, daughter of Athena. Please try not to destroy my town."**

****"The first chapter is over." Hestia said softly, closing the book.

"Please, tell me where my daughter is." Athena whispered brokenly, "Just tell me she is okay, please."

The demigods glanced at each other and sighed. Jason opened his mouth to ask Nico if he wanted to explain since hee saw, but he never got the opportunity, because just then a bright light filled the room, stopping all conversation.

**Muahh-ha-ha-ha. Bit of a cliffhanger there. Favorite and review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own Percy Jackson, but I wish I did. Flames will be used to light fireworks. **

The bright light blinded everyone, and they all had to look away.

When it faded, the center of the room contained 2 figures. A blond, worried girl and a green, sickly looking boy.

Poseidon and Athena gasped and the girl glanced upward, momentarily stunned by seeing Olympus again. She quickly got over her shock and screamed at the gods. "HELP HIM! HE'S HURT. PLEASE!"

Apollo sprung up from his throne and went to the unconscious boy. "What happened?" he went into doctor mode and checked the dying boy over.

The girl had tears in her eyes. "I- I don't know, he- he went into the woods with Luke, and then he came out being, hel-held by nymphs and now- now he's dying! Ple-please help him." She said as quickly as possible. A wound on the boy's hand caught Apollo's eye and he investigated it.

"Pit- scorpion." he growled. He put his hand over the boys and used his healing powers to stop the poison racing through the boy's veins. Automatically the boy regained his tan complexion and looked healthy again. Apollo then made a cup of nectar appear and poured some into the boy's mouth.

The demigods were focused on the girl sitting at the boy's side, holding his hand. She was obviously a daughter of Athena, with her honey blond hair, gray eyes and athletic build, but something else seemed familiar about her. The familiar curl of her hair, the way she looked at the hurt boy beneath her, and the way her gray eyes showed that her mind was racing a million miles an hour.

The boy groaned. All eyes were set on him as he began to sit up, (with the assistance of the girl), he opened his eyes and everyone gasped. They all knew those eyes. Those eyes were usually filled with humor, determination and mischief, and were the exact color of the sea. The 6 demigods eyes began to water. _No, this isn't possible, he he FELL! _But their thoughts were confirmed by the next few words that came out of the girls mouth.

"Seaweed brain!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "You idiot! You were green and turning gray when we found you! If it weren't for Apollo's healing... How do you feel?"

"Like my insides have been frozen, and then microwaved." the boy answered in a strained voice. The demigods gasped and stared at him harder. "Where are w-" he began and then he noticed the Olympians. His eyes went wide and he stared at the surprised gods in shock. He looked around the room and his eyes landed on Zeus, who was staring at the boy confusedly. Percy's eyes filled with fear and he addressed the king of the gods. "I- I apologize Lord Zeus. I didn't mean to step foot on Olympus again, please don't kill me?"

Zeus stared at the boy, and a memory clicked in his head. _Otherwise you shall taste this bolt and it shall be your last sensation. _He smiled slightly at his nephew. Don't worry boy, it would do me no good to strike you dead.

The demigods recovered their senses. Piper was beyond confused. "Who-who are you?" The boy and the girl both looked at her and noticed the 6 half-bloods for the first time.

"I'm Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena."

"Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon."

**DUN DUN DUNNNN! next chapter will be up shortly, because this was just so short! But, it seemed like a good end to the chapter. Favorite and review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Heyy guys! Here's chapter 2 of The Mark of Athena! I don't own Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan does. **

* * *

There was a long pause before anyone dared to move. The gods looked at the 12 year old Percy and Annabeth and shrugged. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary with people being sent forward in time anymore. The demigods however had different reactions. Piper ran up to Annabeth and engulfed her in a huge hug. Annabeth was startled and just sat there, as still as a statue. while strangers assaulted her. Jason looked at the young Percy with a look of complete shock. Percy looked so young and short and just.. not like what Jason was used to seeing. Frank patted Percy's back, and Hazel hugged him. Leo was shocked. Completely and utterly shocked. He didn't expect to ever see them again, and now here they were. Nico hobbled over to Annabeth and Percy and examined them. There wasn't a dry eye with the 6 future-comers. The gods were taken aback by this response.

"Annabeth." Percy whispered. "Do you know who these people are?"

"I have absolutely no idea seaweed brain. Can you uh, tell me who you are, please?

Piper froze. This was young Annabeth, of course she had no idea who Piper was. "Of course sweetie. I'm Piper. We're good friends in the future."

Annabeth and Percy looked at each other. _Who said anything about the future?_

__"What year is it?" Annabeth asked carefully.

"2012." Athena said, examining her daughter.

"Wow, really? That's cool." Percy said, while smiling weakly. His whole body still hurt. He felt like a truck had backed over him.

"I'm Hazel, and we're also friends in the future. Well, we all are. We're all your friends." She smiled at the two younger demigods.

"I'm Jason." he said quietly, still shocked.

"Uh, Leo?" It came out as a question, but come on. Two of his friends basically come back from the dead and he can't be surprised?

"I'm Nico." Nico said staring at two of his best friends.

"Frank." He was too surprised to say anything else.

Annabeth nodded. "And, why are we here?"

Zeus decided to answer her. "We've been reading a book about a future quest you go on."

Percy groaned. "More quests? I thought I was done with all of that."

Everyone snorted at him. "Punk, you go on plenty more quests." Ares said, sneering at Percy. Percy glared at him, remembering his fight with Ares. Ares glared back.

"We were just about to read chapter 2. Would you mind joining us? Hestia said calmly. Annabeth and Percy nodded and sat down. "Who wants to read?"

Athena raised her hand. "I will Lady Hestia. Hestia passed her the book and Athena cleared her throat.

**"Annabeth II"**

****Annabeth paled. "It's in my point of view?" she chocked out. Percy snickered at her and she slapped his arm.

The 6 demigods all looked at this exchange with teary eyes.

**A sea of hastily assembled demigods parted for Annabeth as she walk through the forum.**

****"Where am I?" she asked again.

"Roman camp." Dionysus said while flipping through his magazine.

"Okay." she said.

"You're not surprised?" Jason asked her.

"Not really, I mean, the gods still have a Roman form, so why wouldn't they have Roman children?" Jason nodded at her logic.

**Some looked tense, some nervous. Some were bandaged from their recent battle with the giants, but no one was armed. No one attacked.**

****"Well that's good." Artemis said.

**Entire families had gathered to see the newcomers. Annabeth saw couples with babies, toddlers clinging to their parents' legs, even some elderly folks in a combination of Roman robes and modern clothes. Were all of them demigods?**

****"No." Hermes said, "Some are legacies. Descendants of demigods." Annabeth and Percy were wide eyed and nodded.

**Annabeth suspected so, though she'd never seen a place like this. At Camp Half-Blood, demigods were teens. If they survived long enough to graduate from high school, they either stayed on as counselors or left to start lives as best they could in the mortal world. Here, it was an entire multi-generational community.**

**At the far end of the crowd, Annabeth spotted Tyson the Cyclops and Percy's hellhound, Mrs. O'Leary**

****Percy looked surprised. Annabeth looked disgusted. Cyclops? That's the reason Thalia died. "You have a hellhound?"

"Apparently so." Percy said blinking. "I wonder how that works."

**-who had been the first party from Camp Half-Blood to reach Camp Jupiter. They looked to be in good spirits. Tyson waved and grinned. He was wearing a SPQR banner like a giant bib.**

****"Why does that monster know me?" Annabeth growled.

"I claimed him and he is Percy's brother. He sometimes resides in my cabin and he has helped you on many quests." Poseidon said

Percy blanched. "Wh-hat? he stuttered.

The demigods, Apollo, Ares, and Hermes all laughed at the bewildered expression on his face.

**Some part of Annabeth's mind registered how beautiful the place was-the smells from the bakeries, the gurgling fountains, the flowers blooming in the gardens. And the architecture... gods, the architecture-gilded marble columns, dazzling mosaics, monumental arches, and terraced villas.**

"You do want to be an architect, Wise Girl." Percy said, regaining some of his wit. She just rolled her eyes at him and smiled.

**In front of her, the demigods made way for a girl in full Roman armor and a purple cape. Dark hair tumbled across her shoulders. Her eyes were black as obsidian.**

****"Reyna." All of the older demigods said.

**_Reyna._** **Jason had described her well. Even without that, Annabeth would've singled her out as the leader. Medals decorated her armor. She carried herself with such confidence the other demigods backed away and averted their gaze.**

****Apollo wolf whistled and Artemis slapped him.

Annabeth** recognized something else in her face, too-in the set of her mouth and the deliberate way she raised her chin like she was ready to accept any challenge. Reyna was forcing a look of courage, while holding back a mixture of hopefulness and worry and fear that she couldn't show in public. Annabeth knew that face. She saw it every time she looked in a mirror.**

****She blushed, and Percy looked at her. He hesitantly patted her shoulder and she smiled at him. Aphrodite looked like she was about to explode because of the cuteness.

Percy blushed and looked away. The demigods all snickered at the two blushing children.

**The two girls considered each other. Annabeth's friends fanned out on either side. The Romans murmured Jason's name, staring at him in awe.**

****Jason blushed.

**Then someone else appeared from the crowd, and Annabeth's vision tunneled.**

****Percy glared at the ground, and found himself jealous for unknown reasons. The demigods smiled at his expression.

**Percy smiled at her**

****Percy looked up and he and Annabeth regarded each other with confused looks on their faces.

Frank began to laugh, and Hazel looked at him. He whispered something in her ear and she began to giggle as well. _What are they going to look like when they find out they're dating?_

**-that sarcastic, troublemaker smile** **that had annoyed her for years but eventually had become endearing.**

****Annabeth's eyes widened. Percy chocked on nothing. "Endearing?" he asked his voice a bit higher than normal. Everyone laughed and Annabeth blushed, and looked at the ground. "I don't know what's happening." She said quietly and Piper patted her shoulder.

**His sea-green eyes were as gorgeous as she remembered.**

****Her face got even redder, and Percy joined in on the blush-fest and looked anywhere but at Annabeth. Aphrodite was squealing at the two of them. Athena was stony faced and Poseidon turned to her.

"My eyes are gorgeous, aren't they." He said, smirking at her. Athena sent an owl after him and he just shot it with water.

**His dark hair was swept to one side, like he'd just come from a walk on the beach. He looked even better than he had six months ago-tanner and taller, leaner and more muscular.**

****"CAN WE PLEASE STOP READING THIS?" Annabeth squeaked out. She was about to die of embarrassment. Percy nodded.

"Nope, nope nope!" Leo said. "We have to keep reading about the love birds." They got even redder and the demigods all continued to laugh at them.

**Annabeth was too stunned to move. She felt that if she got any closer to him, all the molecules in her body would implode.**

****She groaned and hid her face in her hands.

Athena looked at the next line and threw the book at Poseidon. She crossed her arms and sat, glaring into space.

Poseidon picked up where she left off.

**She'd secretly had a crush on him since they were twelve years old.**

****Annabeth's head shot up and Percy was as red as Apollo's sun cows. He looked at her in surprise. "THAT IS NOT TRUE!" she screamed "GET THAT LOOK OFF YOUR FACE SEAWEED BRAIN. THE BOOK IS LYING." She moved and sat on the other end of the couch, far away from Percy, blushing like a maniac. Percy was looking at the ground, red faced and thoroughly embarrassed.

**Last summer she'd fallen for him hard. They'd been a happy couple for four months**

"LIES!" she screamed at the ground. Percy was too shocked for words.

**-then he'd disappeared.**

Nico frowned. He hated it when Percy was gone. Percy looked at the demigods. "I was missing?"

They all nodded and Annabeth glared at the floor.

**During their separation, something had happened to Annabeth's feelings. They'd grown painfully intense-like she's been forced to withdraw from a life-saving medication. **

She blushed again. When would the embarrassment be over?

**Now she wasn't sure which was more excruciating-living with that horrible absence, or being with him again.**

She began to hit her head on the arm of the sofa, and Percy shoved his face into his hands. Everyone laughed again.

**The praetor Reyna straightened. With apparent reluctance, she turned to Jason.**

Jason frowned. "Reluctance?"

The demigods shrugged.

**"Jason Grace, my former colleague..." She spoke the word ****_colleague_**** like it was a dangerous thing. **

He frowned again.

**"I welcome you home. And these, your friends-"**

**Annabeth didn't mean to, but she surged forward. **

"Oh dear gods." She mumbled to herself. "Please don't do what I think you're doing."

Piper smiled and rubbed Annabeths back, comforting her.

**Percy rushed toward her at the same time. **

Percy groaned and everyone snickered.

**The crowd tensed. Some reached for swords that weren't there.**

**Percy threw his arms around her. **

"ughhgurnwiunvqqn." Percy made an unfathomable noise into his hands and turned ever redder. Annabeth was wide eyed and gaping in his direction.

**They kissed, **

She buried her head in Piper's shoulder and Percy looked in her direction, just to look back at the ground.

**and for a moment nothing else mattered. An asteroid could've hit the planet and wiped out all life, and Annabeth wouldn't have cared.**

Annabeth groaned again, and Percy looked like he was being stabbed, he was sooo embarrassed.

**Percy smelled of ocean air. His lips were salty.**

"OKAY, CAN WE PLEASE END THIS CHAPTER." Percy whined.

"Yes please?" Annabeth said.

**_Seaweed brain, _****she thought giddily.**

She covered her face, and blushed even more.

**Percy pulled away and studied her face. "Gods, I never thought-"**

**Annabeth grabbed his wrist and flipped him over her shoulder. He slammed into the stone pavement. **

Athena smiled at her daughter.

**Romans cried out. Some surged forward, but Reyna shouted,"Hold! Stand down!"**

Hazel laughed. "It surprised everyone when she suddenly flipped him."

"Thanks Annabeth. I feel awesome now." Percy said grumbling.

"Kid you probably feel awesome cause you just had a little makeout session with your girly-friend." Apollo said seriously, then burst out laughing along with everyone else.

**Annabeth put her knee on Percy's chest. She pushed her forearm against his throat. **

Everyone winced, that had to hurt. Athena smirked again.

**She didn't care what the Romans thought. A white-hot lump of anger expanded in her chest-a tumor of worry and bitterness that she'd been carrying around since last autumn.**

"Last autumn? I was gone for that long?" Percy asked quietly.

Everyone nodded and Percy frowned.

**"If you ****_ever _****leave me again," she said, her eyes stinging,"I swear to all the gods-"**

"Where did he go?" Annabeth asked hesitantly.

Leo answered "Hera kidnaped him for 6 months and hid him from everyone's vision and threw him to Camp Jupiter a few weeks ago."

Annabeth glared at Hera and Percy looked down. _The Roman Camp? Wow._

**Percy had the nerve to laugh.**

Poseidon smirked and the demigods all shook their heads.

**Suddenly the lump of heated emotions melted inside Annabeth.**

Aphrodite squealed to herself. SO MUCH PERCABETH.

**"Consider me warned," Percy said. "I missed you, too."**

She squealed, again.

**Annabeth rose and helped him to his feet. She wanted to kiss him again ****_so _****badly, but she managed to restrain herself.**

Annabeth and Percy blushed again. Everyone snickered at them again.

**Jason cleared his throat. "So, yeah. . . .It's good to be back."**

**He introduced Reyna to Piper, who looked a little miffed that she hadn't gotten to say her lines that she'd been practicing, then to Leo, who grinned and flashed a peace sign.**

Leo grinned and Piper rolled her eyes. "Well I practiced for like 3 hours, and I put a lot of work into saying those few words, and I didn't even get to say them."

**"And this is Annabeth," Jason said. "Uh, normally she doesn't judo-flip people."**

"Says who?" Annabeth grumbled.

**Reyna's eyes sparkled. "You sure you're not a Roman, Annabeth? Or an Amazon?"**

**Annabeth didn't know if that was a compliment or not, but she held out her hand. "I only attack my boyfriend like that," she promised. "Pleased to meet you."**

"Boyfriend?" She squeaked out. "In the future, Percy and I are.. dating?"

"Well obviously hun. You just kissed and made lovey eyes at each other, what did you think?" Hermes said in a lisp-y voice.

"I was ignoring the possibility" she said, red faced.

Everyone laughed and Percy blushed.

**Reyna clasped her hand firmly. "It seems we have a lot to discuss. Centurions!"**

**A few of the Roman campers hustled forward-apparently the senior officers. Two kids appeared at Percy's side, the same ones Annabeth had seen him chumming around with earlier. **

"US!" Frank and Hazel said smiling.

**The burly Asian guy with the buzz cut was about fifteen. He was cute in a sort of oversized-cuddly-panda-bear-way. **

"Thanks Annabeth. I feel the love." Frank said. Hazel smacked his arm playfully.

**The girl was younger, maybe thirteen, with amber eyes and chocolate skin and long curly hair. Her cavalry helmet was tucked under her arm.**

"Me!" Hazel said.

"It was a very accurate description." Hades said to his daughter. Hazel smiled hesitantly.

**Annabeth could tell from their body language that they felt close to Percy. They stood next to him protectively, like they'd shared many adventures. She fought down a twinge of jealousy.**

"Awwww, is little Annie jealous?" Apollo said in a baby voice.

Annabeth turned red with anger. She was done being embarrassed. "_Don't call me Annie."_ She said with venom covering each word. Apollo and Hermes both stopped laughing and looked at her, and she was glaring at the both of them. They shrunk back slightly and looked anywhere but at her.

**Was it possible Percy and this girl...no. The chemistry between the three of them wasn't like that. **

"She thought Percy and I were dating?" Hazel said wide eyed. She met Franks gaze and burst out laughing. "He's like my older brother."

**Annabeth had spent her whole life learning to read people. It was a survival skill. If she had to guess, she'd say the big Asian guy was the girl's boyfriend, though she suspected they hadn't been together long.**

"Wow she got that all from reading us? Cool. You were right Annabeth." Frank said in awe.

"She's always right", Percy said to the floor, and Annabeth heard him and stuck her tongue out.

**There was one thing she didn't understand: what was the girl staring at? She kept frowning in Piper and Leo's direction, like she recognized one of them and the memory was painful.**

Leo and Hazel exchanged a knowing look.

**Meanwhile, Reyna was giving orders to her officers. "...tell the legion to stand down. Dakota, alert the spirits in the kitchen. Tell them to prepare a welcome feast. And, Octavian-"**

**"You're letting these intruders into the ****_camp_****?" A tall guy with stringy blonde hair elbowed his way forward. "Reyna, the security risks-"**

"Octavian." The demigods growled.

"I have a feeling I won't like him, will I? Percy asked.

"No, you won't. You make him your enemy, basically." Hazel said

"Wow, seaweed brain, how many enemies do you need? Ares, Zeus, Mr. D possibly, Medusa, Echidna, Hades, and Luke." Her voice turned dreamy at the end, and Percy looked away sharply and glared at the floor, then at the scorpion sting mark on his finger. Annabeth saw and frowned at him, _oh yeah, Luke's…. Luke's bad now._

**"We're not taking them to the camp, Octavian." Reyna flashed him a stern glance. "We'll eat here, in the forum."**

**"Oh, ****_much _****better," Octavian grumbled. He seemed to be the only one who didn't defer Reyna as his superior, despite the fact that he was scrawny and pale and for some reason had three teddy bears hanging from his belt. "You want us to relax in the shadow of their warship."**

"Yup." Leo said.

**"These are are guests." Reyna clipped off every word. "We will welcome them, and we will talk to them. As augur, you should burn an offering to thank the gods for bringing Jason back to us safely."**

**"Good idea," Percy put in. "Go burn your bears, Octavian."**

Everyone laughed.

**Reyna looked like she was trying not to smile. "You have my orders. Go."**

**The officers dispersed. Octavian shot Percy a look of absolute loathing. **

"Well he doesn't like me at all." Percy said smiling.

**Then he gave Annabeth a suspicious once-over and stalked away.**

Annabeth huffed.

**Percy slipped his hand into Annabeth's. **

They both blushed again.

**"Don't worry about Octavian," he said. "Most of the Romans are good people-like Frank and Hazel here, and Reyna. We'll be fine."**

Frank and Hazel smiled

**Annabeth felt as if someone had draped a cold washcloth across her neck. She heard that whispering laugh again, as if the presence had followed her from the ship.**

Annabeth frowned and looked at everyone questioningly.

**She looked up at the ****_Argo II_****. Its massive bronze hull glittered in the sunlight. Part of her wanted to kidnap Percy right now, climb on board, and get out of here while they still could.**

"Kidnap me?" Percy asked and she shrugged.

**She couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong. And there was no way she would ever risk losing Percy again.**

Everyone smiled at the blushing Annabeth.

**"We'll be fine," she repeated, trying to believe it.**

**"Excellent," Reyna said. She turned to Jason, and Annabeth thought there was a hungry sort of gleam in her eyes. "Let's talk, and we can have a proper reunion."**

Poseidon closed the book and stretched. "Chapter's over. Who wants to read next?"

Artemis raised her hand and Poseidon tossed her the book. **"Annabeth III"**

* * *

**Wooh! Another chapter done. Favorite and Review and tell me who I should add next!**


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